Browsing around my PC’s old hard drives today I stumbled upon the image that won me the Commonwealth Photographic Awards: African Region, back in 2004.

Johan Botha, AIDS ORPHAN

Looking at the image today, almost 8 years after it was taken, I was instantly transported back to that 42 degrees Celsius afternoon in a remote village in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

If I close my eyes, I can still hear the high pitch sound of cicadas and smell the dust and smoke from the households wood-burning fires. I remember loading the roll of Kodak Tri-X monochrome film in my old faithful Canon A1 camera that was at that stage already 30 years old. I also remember the “click”, the sound of the shutter and the winding of the motordrive.

The magic happened and the girl’s soul was captured!

Now I cannot help to wonder, is the girl still alive or did she suffer the same fate as so many others; neglected by Government, Society and their own Community!

Follow the following link to a Forum about the 2004 Commonwealth Photographic Awards: